Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 10

Team Talk Fantasy Football GW10

Welcome to GW10 and finally some normality is returning to our FPL lives – City banging in the goals, Arsenal beating weaker opposition, United back on track, Lord Pardew out of the top 4 (thank fook), Chelsea returning to winning ways, Aguero injured and Villa and Sunderland keep on losing. The only strange part was seeing Newcastle win last week, but let’s face it – even a broken clock is right twice a day. And so onto GW10 and it’s a gameweek condensed into a 27 hour period – no early kick off, no Monday night footy – that’s right folks some good old fashioned 3pm Saturday kicks off and a Super Sunday. Five 3pm matches get us going as Swansea travel to endangered Villa, the Lord takes his Eagles to battle the Foxes, Norwich host West Brom, Watford and Stoke attempt to keep their fans awake and our first derby of the weekend takes place within the sound of the Bow Bells as West Ham host Chelsea. Saturday evening takes us to North London as Everton visit Arsenal. And then onto Sunday – and it’s a pretty good one. First up is the Tyne Wear derby as talk of the Toon, Georginio Wijnaldum, attempts to do to Big Sam’s Black Cats what he did to the Canaries. Then we have Spurs visiting Bournemouth at the same time as the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, where a win for the Reds would see them leapfrog their noisy neighbours. Finally and just a short distance away, our gameweek concludes as Klopp takes charge of his first home league match as the Saints come to town.
It’s been a busy week of European action, with Chelsea, City, Arsenal and United representing the Premier League in the Champions League, while our serial pretenders, Liverpool and Spurs, have had a busy Thursday night playing Europa fun. Please allow me to stop the waffle and get down to the serious stuff, as we go Around the Grounds to catch up on the latest team news.

Aston Villa vs Swansea (Sat 24 Oct 15.00)
How many times can we say Aston Villa just are not good? Well, at least one more. Villa haven’t scored in four of their last five at home, have lost their last five overall and have earned just one point at Villa Park this season. Despite a poor run of form that has seen them winless in their last five, Swansea will fancy their chances this weekend: they boast a 4-3-1 record in their last eight league meetings against the Villans. Don’t bet on a clean sheet in this one: Villa have conceded in all four of their home games while the Swans have failed to keep a clean sheet on the road.

Tim Sherwood remains adamant that Villa will stay up, but has called for the club to introduce some experienced signings in January. Sadly for them, Big Sam has been snapped up by Sunderland and Tony Pulis seems to be steadying the West Brom ship – maybe Mourinho may be available? Alan Curbishley always pops up on those Sky Sports polls. Sherwood defended keeper Brad Guzan who gifted a goal to Chelsea last week – he said, “I’m sure Guzan has the confidence to put it right. Mark Bunn will be considered. When it’s right to make the change, I will make it.” Oh – not the biggest vote of confidence ever given. Gabby Agbonlahor is available again after recovering from a calf injury and Ciaran Clark returns to the squad which has no fresh injuries.

Swansea have no new injuries for the trip to Villa. Wayne Routledge returned to training today and will be assessed ahead of travelling. Garry Monk could decide to recall Gylfi Sigurdsson or Sung-Yeung Ki to a starting XI desperate for a win. It’s defo comedy presser week as Monk said, “Tim Sherwood is doing an excellent job at Villa”. Righto mate!!

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Leicester vs Crystal Palace (Sat 24 Oct 15.00)
Leicester (5th) and Crystal Palace (6th) enter this match as a pair of overachievers. While they are establishing themselves as legitimate members of the Premiere League, the question remains for both teams: can they win against the big boys and can they win when it counts? We will get the answer this weekend. This will very much be the Jamie Vardy Show. The red-hot forward has the opportunity to do something only 4 other Englishmen have accomplished: score in seven consecutive EPL games. A goal against Palace at the weekend will see him join the ranks of Alan Shearer (7), Ian Wright (7), Mark Stein (7) and Daniel Sturridge (8).

Claudio Ranieri says, and I quote, “It’s too early to talk about Jamie Vardy along with Neymar”. Agreed – with those teeth, he’s much more Suarez than Neymar. The manager says that Vardy isn’t for sale in January, which will devastate Barcelona fans. There was no mention of Riyad Mahrez in the presser, so presumably the play maker has had a lovely rest and is now 100% fit and keen to play. Leonardo Ulloa is not quite ready for the weekend. Ranieri said that being an Italian manager it cuts his heart every time they concede – more defibrillators have therefore been installed near the dug out for the poor chap.

Will this week be the week for a Leicester clean sheet? Well, it could be as Palace are light up front. Dwight Gayle is suspended following his red card vs West Ham last week, while Connor Wickham and Marouane Chamakh remain unavailable – Wickham is back in light training, while Chamakh is close to a return. Lord Pardew however, in his own unique way says, I’ll be disappointed if they’re eating pizza this weekend!” Oh, good one Pards, you’re such a funny guy. Defender Joel Ward is “medically fit” but lacks match fitness and may not be thrown straight into the action, though it is understood he will travel with the squad.

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Norwich vs West Brom (Sat 24 Oct 15.00)
The trends in this fixture are all over the place. Norwich have won three of their last five league matches against West Brom, but have lost four of their last five at home against the Baggies. West Brom have kept clean sheets in five of their last eight league matches and, since Tony Pulis took charge, the Baggies have kept more clean sheets (15) than any other team in the league. Don’t bet on Saido Berahino this weekend – since last season he has scored just four goals in 22 away matches. By comparison, he has scored 13 in 23 appearances at home.

Canaries chief Alex Neil is keen to get his side back on track after last week’s horror show at Newcastle and has stressed to his team that results are just as important as performances, which he said have been decent this season. This weekend comes too soon for midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, though he is close to a return. Strikers Gary Hooper and Lewis Grabban will be assessed but they are unlikely to be risked.

Baggies midfielder James Morrison will be assessed as he continues to struggle with an ankle complaint. Tony Pulis reserves special praise for strikers Saido Berahino and Rickie Lambert, who he says are looking much sharper after reaping the rewards of extra training. Keeper Ben Foster is the only definite absentee.

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Stoke vs Watford (Sat 24 Oct 15.00)
Buoyed by a keeper that has made more saves than any other in the league (39), Stoke have annoyingly won their last three and have kept clean sheets in their last two. The Orcs, however, have not kept a clean sheet at home this season. Watford are unbeaten in their last five meetings against Stoke (three wins, two draws), keeping a clean sheet in all five. Our pick to click: Mame Biram Diouf has scored five goals in his last eight EPL matches.

Stoke welcome Ryan Shawcross and Mame Diouf back into the squad for the visit of the Hornets. Captain Shawcross is available for the first time this season after undergoing back surgery, while Diouf has returned, though not trained much, since his compassionate leave. Shawcross is more likely to feature on Tuesday in the Capital One Cup as Mark Hughes says he has no reason to change his back four which has performed well recently, while Diouf is more likely be on the bench tomorrow. Jon Walters is also available after a groin strain ruled him out of the win at Swansea.

Watford midfielder Valon Behrami is a doubt for the trip to Stoke as he is still struggling with a calf injury picked up on international duty, while Jose Manuel Jurado has been ruled out again with a hamstring injury. Defender Joel Ekstrand continues to recovery from knee ligament damage, while Tommie Hoban remains out.

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West Ham vs Chelsea (Sat 24 Oct 15.00)
The Hammers are 4th in the league, Chelsea sit 12th and, no, gentle readers, you have not entered the Twilight Zone. Slaven Bilic’s men are enjoying their best start to an EPL season after nine matches. For the Blues it is a different story: this is Chelsea’s second worse start to an EPL campaign after nine. History is on Chelsea’s side, however, as they have held West Ham scoreless in their five previous league clashes. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink leads this fixture’s history with six goals but, since you can’t pick him, we like Eden Hazard or John Terry – the only men on the pitch Sunday who have netted more than once against the opposition.

Bilic has recognised the need to improve the club’s home form and has suggested a more patient and less gung-ho approach will be the way forward. Bilic also said he wants his players to shoot more, especially from around the box – good news for owners of Dimitri Payet owners, who has already shown his quality in that regard this season. The Hammers will be without the ineligible Victor Moses who cannot play vs his parent club, while Winston Reid will again miss out through injury.

Mourinho says his squad has no fresh injuries from their midweek jaunt to Russia. Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, Pedro and Loic Remy have failed to recover from injury and won’t be considered at West Ham. Jose didn’t divulge much on Eden Hazard after reports surfaced in the French media that he has told friends he wants to leave, though when asked if Hazard would play on Saturday, Mourinho refused to confirm the Belgian would start.

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Arsenal vs Everton (Sat 24 Oct 17.30)
Arsene Wenger’s men have won their last three by a combined score of 11-2 and will fancy their chances against an Everton side still smarting from a 3-0 shellacking from Manchester United. Arsenal have lost just one of their last 16 EPL matches against Everton (9-6-1), but recent history suggests this one will end in a draw. In the last six meetings between these teams, each side can claim a victory and four draws. Our pick to click: after bagging a goal against Bayern midweek, we like Olivier Giroud, who has scored four goals in his last four matches against Everton. Looking for a Big Hitter Differential? Tomas Rosicky boasts three career goals against the Toffees and he (and Giroud) contributed to the Gunners 2-0 victory the last time these two met. Sadly Rosicky won’t be around this week. Or indeed any weeks for a while yet.

Wenger is quoted as saying that if Alexis asks for a rest then he will be rested, though he doubts the Chilean will do that! Expect Sanchez to play this weekend and then rest up before GW11. Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out, probably until after the next international break after suffering a hamstring injury in midweek. If Wenger felt inclined to give Petr Cech another small rest, then he won’t be calling on David Ospina as the Colombian is still suffering from an injured shoulder and will be out for a similar time as Ramsey. Gabriel has returned to full training and comes into contention, but Mikel Arteta suffered an injury in training on Thursday and will miss this weekend. The three musketeers, Jack “our great hope” Wilshere, Danny “joined Arsenal, got injured” Welbeck and Tomas “does anyone remember me?” Rosicky have all been granted a further few months off to do their Christmas shopping and won’t be seen again until January. Not sure which January, mind you.

Roberto Martinez is beginning to see some light at the end of the long injury tunnel affecting his squad. Bryan Oviedo, Tom Cleverley and Steven Pienaar all turned out for the U21s this week – Oviedo is now fully fit, while Pienaar and Young Tom shouldn’t be too far behind, with Cleverley not yet being ruled out of the weekend. Leighton Baines is also expected back soon, though Martinez continued to sing the praises of his stand in Brendan Galloway, who he says has a huge future in the game. Kevin Mirallas is available and the manager believes the Belgian is ready to kick on after a tough start to the season which has seen him sent off and suffer with niggling injuries. Even Tony Hibbert is back in training.

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Sunderland vs Newcastle (Sun 25 Oct 12.00)
Derby Sunday kicks off with the Tyne-Wear Derby, which features two of the worst teams in the league this season. Recent history suggests Sunderland will get the better of their rivals come Sunday. The Black Cats have won their last five league matches against a Newcastle side that has scored just once in their last five matches against Sunderland. Feeling Sunderland are likely to come out on top? Sunderland have gone 12 matches without a victory, with their last winning effort taking place against Everton back in May. A bit of history being made in this match, as Big Sam will become the first manager to lead both sides in the Tyne-Wear Derby. Honestly, these two sides should just agree on a 0-0 draw and save us all the bother of having to watch “highlights” of this one.

Big Sam says Fabio Borini picked up a knock in the loss at West Brom and has missed training this week – he will have a fitness test on Saturday, though his lack of training must be a concern. Ola Toivonen has recovered from injury and returns to the squad as do Sebastian Coates and Jeremain Lens who have both served their suspension.

Toon boss Steve McClaren refuted suggestions that last week’s hero and new FPL idol Georginio Wijnaldum had picked up a calf injury by saying he has no new injuries for the derby. Defender Kevin Mbabu and youngster Rolando Aarons have both returned to full training, so the absentee list is reduced to Tim Krul, Karl Darlow, Steven Taylor, Gabriel Obertan and Emmanuel Riviere. Macca will be telling his players to “play the game, not the occasion” on Sunday – genius mate, England’s loss is Newcastle’s gain.

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Bournemouth vs Spurs (Sun 25 Oct 14.05)
Derby Sunday continues with what will undoubtedly be the lesser-watched Bourne Conspursicy Derby. The last time these two met it was a knock-down, drag-out fight to the finish that saw Bournemouth win 3-1… in an FA Cup tie in 1957. So it might be a bit of a stretch to call this one a derby, but those of us that were there during that 1957 match will remember the intensity of the affair. Bournemouth come into this one still smarting from a 5-1 beating from Manchester City, while Spurs will be looking for a win after having to settle for draws in their last two.

Bournemouth are still sweating over the fitness of keeper Artur Boruc who sustained a thigh injury / decided he didn’t fancy it (delete as appropriate) in the warm up at the Etihad last weekend. Boruc will be given a late fitness test to see if he can play / fancies playing (again, delete as appropriate). Adam Federici is ready to step in again if necessary. Midfielder Andrew Surman, who at least survived the warm up last week, is ok after picking up a small calf problem in last weekend’s hammering, Marc Pugh is also ok, phew. Tommy Elphick, Tyrone Mings, Max Gradel and Callum Wilson all remain out, while Eddie Howe hasn’t ruled out involving Harry Arter, who played 70mins in a friendly in the week.

Spurs will need to bounce back from their Thursday Europa loss to Anderlecht and will recall Harry Kane to a starting spot after the striker was given a brief rest in the week – before being called upon for the last 30mins in Holland. Ben Davies was preferred at the back to Danny Rose, which would suggest Rose is now Mauricio Pochettino’s choice for league games. Eric Dier returns from suspension, Ryan Mason has a chance of making the bench, but Nacer Chadli, Nabil Bentaleb and Heung-Min Son are all ruled out.

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Man Utd vs Man City (Sun 25 Oct 14.05)
The Manchester Derby. A must-watch fixture for the last several seasons thanks to City openly flaunting Financial Fair Play, buying every player imaginable and thus becoming relevant once again. City have won six of their last eight league matches against their neighbours after having won just six of their previous 42 against United. Expect a high-scoring affair: the last 10 Manchester Derbies have seen 41 goals scored, and there hasn’t been a goalless draw kept in this fixture the last 12 times these two have played. Our pick to click: Wayne Rooney. The handsomely-coiffed Englishman boasts 11 goals against City, most in the fixture’s history.

LVG says only defenders Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair are injured – although Ashley Young won’t be considered as he has only just returned to training and therefore won’t be ready for Sunday. Juan Mata and Matteo Darmian were rested in the Champions League in the week so they will play, while much will again depend on young Anthony Martial to bring pace to the side, while Marouane Fellaini was an effective substitute on Wednesday and is likely to be used in the same role for the derby.

Manuel Pellegrini goes into the derby without Sergio Aguero and David Silva, but welcomes back into contention Vincent Kompany and Alksandar Kolarov. Kolarov came off the bench vs Sevilla in the week and seems likely to start on Sunday, meaning the manager will have to decide whether to play Pablo Zabaleta or Bacary Sagna on the right – Pellegriini did admit that Zabaleta was fatigued after Wednesday night’s start. Kompany is not assured of a straight return to the starting line up as Pellegrini commented, “Mangala and Otamendi are doing well” – though the fact that City have failed to keep a clean sheet in his absence could mean Pellegrini’s stubborness could also be his downfall. Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri and Fabian Delph also continue to miss out. Pellegrini then spoke of Kevin De Bruyne, saying, “he is not a striker but he could play as a striker if we need him to.” Interesting comment – especially after City went on to beat Sevilla with a KDB goal after the Belgian was moved further forward once an ineffective Wilfried Bony was taken off in midweek.

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Liverpool vs Southampton (Sun 25 Oct 16.15)
The week’s final match ends at Anfield with the only non-derby match of the day, as Jurgen Klopp’s men welcome Southampton to town. Liverpool have won their last three against the Saints, conceding a single goal in the process. In his first season with Liverpool James Milner has left his mark: he has run further than any of his teammates in all nine EPL matches this season, and he has created more goal scoring chances this season than any other Liverpool player. Philippe Coutinho will be the only player on the pitch to score more than once in this fixture (2), but he ranks well behind Robbie Fowler who boasts eight career goals against Southampton.

My mate Klopp says that Daniel Sturridge still has fluid on his knee and will have a scan today, though the striker is not yet ruled out of Sunday’s match. A start looks extremely unlikely. However, Christian Beneteke and Roberto Firmino both appeared off the bench in Thursday’s Europa draw to give Klopp more options going forward as he seeks to find a system that works for his players. Jordan Henderson, Joe Gomez and Danny Ings all remain out.

Saints boss Ronald Koeman expects Maarten Stekelenburg to return to the squad after the keeper has responded well to treatment on his back injury. Striker Shane Long remains missing with an ankle injury, while Koeman says Steven Davis, Victor Wanyama, James Ward-Prowse and Jay Rodriguez have all been carrying minor knocks this week but should be ok. Fraser Forster is obviously a long term absentee.

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Suspension Report

Those players who are suspended for GW9 are as follows:

Dwight Gayle (Crystal Palace)

It’s worth being aware that any player who receives five yellow cards before 31st December will receive an automatic one match ban. Those players currently sitting on four yellows are:

Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa)
Jeffrey Schlupp (Leicester)
James Milner
Eliaquim Mangala (Man City)
Matteo Darmian (Man Utd)
Jack Colback (Newcastle)
Oriol Romeu (Southampton)
Bamidele Alli (Spurs)
Erik Lamela (Spurs)
Billy Jones (Sunderland)
Claudio Yacob (West Brom)
Mark Noble (West Ham)

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Thanks for reading Team Talk Fantasy Football Game-week 10. This article was written by LawDogg and Cookie

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